Scene opens on four friends spread evenly across the stage, with

a separate spotlight on each of them. They each sit in their

rooms as they talk virtually, some on laptops, some on phones,

some with headsets connected to TVs. In front of these friends,

a younger friend sits on the edge of the stage.

YOUNGER FRIEND: (joins call) Hey!

OTHERS: Hey!/Hello!/What’s Up ad lib

YOUNGER FRIEND: It’s so good to hear your voices! I’ve missed you

all so much.

FRIEND 1: We miss you too!

FRIEND 2: How are things back home?

YF: Things are good. Everyone is doing well.

FRIEND 3: How are you doing?

YF: Well…I’m ok. I’ve just been worried about you. What is

college like? Has it been hard? Fun? A mix?

Lights focus on Friend 1.

F1: Starting college has been a positive experience overall for

me. A new environment is a cool change and being alone and in

charge of my own life is much different. It’s kind of like

starting over from new in the sense that everyone I meet doesn’t

know me, and I get to build a new reputation for myself with no

past experience weighing on it. The hardest part for me so far is

missing my kitties. I would see them almost hourly at home, and

now I’ll be going months at a time without them. Another great

thing is the fact that the school days are only as long as they

need to be instead of being a static 6 hours every day like in

high school. I have lost a lot of privacy though because in a

dorm there is almost always some other person there with me, and

even the bathrooms are public bathrooms so it can be hard to find

some time completely alone on campus.

Lights return to normal.

YF: Oh god, that last part sounds miserable. That schedule sounds

awesome though. What have you been doing in your free time? Are

you making friends?

Lights focus on Friend 2

F2: Going into my first week of college I felt kind of lost. I

knew there were welcome week events –which I went to– but I

didn’t know what to do with myself. Classes didn’t start for a

week after I moved in so I was just kinda in my dorm till events

would start at night on campus. After I found friends I did feel

more of a sense of community and less of a feeling of lostness.

They are all supportive people but I still did feel kinda silly.

Like, we are just 18 year old who clicked a bunch of boxes, wrote

a few essays and now we're here. But now that clubs and classes

have been going for about 2 weeks, I feel more of a sense of

purpose and drive.

Lights return to normal.

YF: That’s good you’re starting to find your footing a bit. You

guys aren't making college out to be as fun as it seems though…

Lights focus on Friend 3.

F3: Haha, if I had to give one statement on what college has been

like for me is that while the media and society portray college

as an immediate period of fun and growth, it's not. At least not

for everybody, people don’t always connect naturally and the

traditional college experience isn’t representative of what

college is for everyone.

Lights shift to focus on Friend 4.

F4. Agreed. Coming into college I expected a new exciting period

of my life, full of fun and personal fulfillment as is the

message given to us through social media and society in general.

Come move in day I was filled with nothing but excitement, I was

ready to enter this new period of my life and become a college

student. Once I had unpacked all of my belongings and said

goodbye to my family a feeling of confusion and dread overcame

me. I had been so excited for this but once it came I wished I

could take it all back and leave this new and unfamiliar place.

However, I chose to adopt a positive attitude and spent the rest

of the orientation week trying to find new friends and establish

my routine on campus. The latter of these goals was far easier to

succeed, as I found myself a week in and no one to talk to beyond

my roommate. I baked this up to it just being a weird schedule

and hoped that once classes started something would change. A

week farther into college I had experienced the classroom setting

and gotten a feel for the college life, but still myself alone–

with nobody there to share this experience. Just under a week

further than that I find myself still alone, adapting to a new

environment academically and socially, and questioning if there

really is a place for me here. I have no lack of confidence in my

personal academic abilities, but find myself tired and drained

from the isolation that is the only thing with me everyday.

Lights return to normal.

YF: It sounds like things have been pretty hard.

F4: Well…yeah but that’s how it’s supposed to be at first.

OTHERS: Mmhm/Yuuup/Yes sir ad lib

F3: But we’ll get there. Don’t you worry about us.

F1: And know that our experiences don’t define what yours will be

next year either.

F2: Not that you need to be worrying about that yet. Go enjoy

your senior year. It’s gonna go by fast.

F3: We’ll see you soon buddy!

YF: Alright. Talk to you all later

OTHERS: See ya!/Bye!/Good Night!

The friends hang up and all sigh at once, then, the lights fade.